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Blog by Nikki Alvin-Smith

I learned about hay early in life thanks to my wonderful grandfather, ‘Pop.’ As a child growing up in rural Buckinghamshire, England, I was blessed to live on a property with horses, paddocks, fields and super bridleways that weaved through 500 year-old oak trees, with sandy loam soils underfoot and lots of galloping fun.

My grandfather grew up a farmer’s son in the small village of Mentmore. He delighted in sharing his knowledge of everything animal and farming. One day when I was just 11 years old, he took me into one of our...

Blog by Nikki Alvin-Smith

To board or to buy? There are many good reasons to do either but if are considering building a barn for horses in your own backyard then be sure there are no foibles in your plan. Here are a few horse barn tips things to think about before you start.

Size Matters

I have a friend who built a beautiful horse farm replete with 50 stalls, additional carriage houses for guests and a superb home. When he and his wife retired they placed their property on the market. Where it sat. And sat. And still sits. Why...

Blog by Nikki Alvin-Smith and Jill Siragusa

Part 1: The Differences Between Prefabricated and Pole Barns

As a horse owner, the delights of having your own horse barn need no explanation and the excitement of bringing your horse(s) home cannot be overstated.  Before you make the financial commitment to build your barn, there are a few points you might wish to consider to ensure you make the right choices.

Take a look at the differences between a prefabricated or modular structure and a pole barn build.  Because many folks don’t compare “apples to...

Blog by Nikki Alvin-Smith

The design of a horse barn door or entrance to a run-in shed is of great importance to the safety of yourself and your horse. Even multi-million dollar college facilities still manage to get it wrong, implementing narrow aisle ways and “skinny” doors in an attempt to add more stalls to the space.

The result of a bad design in...

Blog by Nikki Alvin-Smith

Part 7:  Delivery

Horizon Structures Delivers on ‘Delivery ‘.

The keenly anticipated delivery day for your beautiful Horizon Structure has arrived. No need to be nervous because the driver and Amish carpentry team that bring your building are all experienced at handling both large and small delivery equipment, from a mule (no, not the equus variety!), a F550- type truck, or a tractor...

Blog by Nikki Alvin-Smith

Part 6:  Construction

There are myriad advantages of prefabricated structures over traditionally built barns. Take a look.

We all know that weather can play havoc with building schedules and damage building materials. At Horizon Structures most of the build is undertaken indoors. Not only does this mean that the building process stays on schedule. It also means quality control is efficient and the sincere craftsmanship from our wonderful team of Amish carpenters can be completed without the stress of high winds, rain,...

Blog by:  Kim Cabatuan, Outreach Specialist for Open Colleges

Have you thought about keeping your dog in a crate especially if you tend to go out of the house for longer periods of time? Is placing a dog in a kennel safe? Is it even “right”?

If so, you might consider crate training for your puppy or full grown dog.

Dogs are actually den animals and they...

Part 5:  Site Prep

Most of Horizon Structures’ well designed buildings are delivered fully assembled.   The exception being a larger, modular barn. Quick. Easy. Instant. How awesome is that? Your only task is to have the site properly leveled, prepared and ready to herald this great event. Frankly, shed ground prep is not that complicated.

What do you need to do to prepare your site?

Once the sod has been removed from the pad and the dirt has been...

Part 3: Financing

So far in our Prefabricated Barn Buying Process blog series we talked about the initial quote and designing/customizing your barn.   Next in the series – and equally as important to realizing the dream of building your own barn – is the means to pay for it! Today we’re covering barn financing. You can see more on our website HERE.

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